Kettering man says he tried to protect other players during Jacksonville Landing shooting

by Bryn Caswell

Monday, August 27th 2018

(Courtesy: Ronald Casey)

KETTERING, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) - Panic swept through the Jacksonville Landing Complex where the Madden 2019 Video Game Competition was taking place on Sunday.

Kettering resident and professional gamer Ronald “SirusTheVirus” Casey was in the room the gunman opened fire.

“The gun shots started taking off just, pop, pop, pop, and it just like it took everyone by surprise," he said. “This was the worst thing I’ve seen in my life. I’m sitting there and I see these people getting shot.”

The entire shooting was captured on the competitions live stream, which Casey said he was standing directly behind.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Circa) - A gunman killed two people and wounded several others before taking his own life Sunday at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., authorities said.The suspect has been tentatively identified David Katz, a 24-year-old wh

Instead of running out the room, Casey said he tried to think fast.

“A bullet hit the wall or whatever came over and I could smell it,” he said. “That’s when I was like, man, I just made the decision to jump on top of the guys.”

The Kettering man said that there wasn't security at the event, so he used his body to protect the younger players who were taking cover.

“The fact we had no security is horrible," said Casey. "We were in a room but it wasn’t big."

Casey is just thankful the gunman used a handgun.

“Thankfully it wasn’t an automatic weapon," he said. “If it was an automatic weapon like some of these other school’s shootings and stuff, we all would have been done. We were trapped.”

Casey knew one of the gamers killed and some of the others who were injured. He said his heart is breaking for their families.

“I get to go home," Casey said somberly. “There’s two guys that don’t get to go home.”